It’s not about “do more things,” it’s about “do very few things better.”

That’s why Apple wins.

My wife asked about the iPad last night (she owns a netbook right now) and now she’s drooling over one. Why? It doesn’t have “files.” It doesn’t have “windows.” She won’t have to worry about “flash drives.” And so on. She was so excited about all the things it didn’t have (and that she therefore didn’t have to worry about) that she was disappointed when I told her they weren’t in the Apple Store in Manhattan yet.

Meanwhile, the geeks are running around blasting Apple products for all the things they “don’t have” and recommending complex alternatives.

That’s why Apple is making $$$ these days. Because they’re removing 60 percent of the features and making the remaining 40 percent configuration free and so polished they make your eyes hurt.

I said similar things to people who were upset about the lack of multitasking, but this guy really hits the nail on the head.

I think too many people wanted another iPhone launch. The iPhone, if you think about it, was actually an aberration as far as Apple products go; the iPhone did more than most phones (though at that point, smartphones were less popular in general), and somehow still managed to do almost everything really well. Compare this to Apple’s launch of the iPod. The iconic response from geeks:

No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

We all know how that one turned out.

The fact of the matter is, aside from the iPhone, Apple has always released products that do less, and do it better. Us geeks may be offended by the “do less” part, but the average consumer loves it, and that’s why Apple will continue to launch into controversy and leave geeks looking foolish a couple years later.